INTEGRATIVE RESEARCH PAPER

Integrative Research Paper

Integrative Research Paper

Introduction

The article selected for review is “Snyderman, R., Weil, A.T., (2002). Integrative Medicine: Bringing Medicine Back to its Roots. Arch Intern Med.” The report is an analysis of the selected article. In the article the author states that according to the Alternative Medicine Foundation (AMF); in the United States there are approximately 125 million American citizens that suffer from some kind of chronic illness. Chronic illness can be defined as a long-term condition or illness, where this is no known cure; examples are arthritis, high blood pressure or hypertension, back pain, allergies, digestive problems, and depression. (AMF, 2000) Oftentimes, conventional medicine, that which is performed by medical doctors; cannot help people suffering from chronic conditions. These individuals often turn to alternative or complementary medicine for help; even if it is just relief for their pain or symptoms.

Integrative Research Paper

Alternative medicine is defined as “practices used in place of conventional medical treatments. (Wikipedia, 2006) Alternative medicine is a bit controversial since in often can take the place of conventional treatment; for example, a cancer patient declines to undergo radiation or chemotherapy and instead opts for nutritional supplements, specialized diet, and/or bioelectromagnetic treatment, to cure his or her cancer.

Complementary medicine is better described as medical practices that use alternative methods combined or partnered with, conventional medical treatments. An example of complementary medicine would be when a physician uses folic acid as a supplement for his or her pregnant patients, or niacin supplements for his or her patients with high cholesterol. Additionally, burn patients that use Aloe Vera along with their traditional medical treatment(s) for recovering from burns; and arguably, when a cancer patient or glaucoma patient uses marijuana as a biologically-based treatment coupled with his or her traditional chemotherapy or radiation treatment demonstrates the practice of complementary medicine.

The US National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) defines integrative medicine as combining conventional medical treatments and alternative treatments for which there is some high-quality scientific evidence of their safety and effectiveness (Wikipedia 2006). Ralph Snyderman discusses integrative medicine by describing it as:Integrative medicine is the term being used for a new movement that is being driven by the desires of consumers but that is now getting the attention of many academic health centers. Importantly, integrative medicine is not synonymous with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). It has a far larger meaning and mission in that it calls for restoration of the focus of medicine on health and healing and emphasizes the centrality of the patient-physician relationship. In addition to providing the best conventional care, integrative medicine focuses on preventive maintenance of health by attention to all relative components of lifestyle, including diet, exercise, stress management and emotional well being. (Snyderman, 2002).

In 2004, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a survey about alternative and complimentary medicines. They asked over 31,000 U.S. citizens concerning approximately 27 different therapies including acupuncture, herbal remedies, vitamins, special diets, and prayer. About 36% of those surveyed said they had used ...